Page 108 of Until He Confesses

Eventually, the smile on her face reduced as she focused on her meal. I could tell how frustrated she was with her shaking her head at me, and this was enough to make me smile. Seeing her, I was almost completely certain that she was very interested in Lucas.

She looked just as young as we were, so that wasn't an issue. And then there was the fact that she was more on Lucas's level than I was. The more I stared at her perfectly manicured red nails and the elegant pearls around her neck, I had to ask myself again why Lucas preferred me.

Shaking my head, I ate a little faster so that I could leave, but then she surprised me and brought out an envelope with her proposal.

"We will continue to discuss and build this more in New York, but I hope that you can go through the information tonight and get back to us with your decision."

Now, this was a surprise. It seemed like she was really ready to do it, but it still all felt rather off to me. She also didn't fail to continue to mention how an opportunity like this would change my life until eventually, I had to inform her that I wasn’t forced to become an air hostess. It was what I wanted to do.

"Honey," she said. "That can't be right."

I got sick after that. Perhaps it was because of the undercooked food, or my irritation, but I soon found myself hurrying to the bathroom and retching over the toilet. Afterward, I was ready to go home, and she was cordial enough to allow this.

"It's probably the food,” she said. "It is undercooked."

"Or maybe I'm pregnant," I said, and all the blood drained from her face.

I was incredibly entertained by this bit, but when I returned to my inn, I couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed. My life and Lucas's were not supposed to be blended. We were supposed to see each other, have sex, and then go our separate ways, but I had become carried away, and now I just felt ill. There was no question that I wasn’t going to participate in this project, which I still wasn't sure existed. She would probably string me along for a while until she got whatever personal access that she wanted to Lucas through me, and then that would be the end.

So, I didn't even bother.

Plus, I wasn't interested in developing products. I was just getting truly carried away, and while the previous night was okay, I needed to make a change, so I headed over and opened my Instagram account. I hadn't really been active on it, but there were some moments I had shared there that were valuable, so I saved the photos that I could and then I completely deleted the account.

51

LUCAS

It was quite unusual to get a call from Anna.

We had always had a good enough relationship, but she never came too close. However, when I noted the call, I knew immediately that there was something wrong.

I thought back to Callie informing me of Jennifer’s intention to meet with her and my lack of objection to it. The truth was that it wasn't as though I didn't have reservations, but I couldn't read Jennifer’s mind. Sure, she had expressed interest in me, but overall, she had kept things professional, and I wanted to extend the same courtesy.

Plus, I had been the one to invite Callie out to the show and put the spotlight on her, so the last thing I wanted to do was control any opportunities for her that arose as a result. My only hope was that it wouldn't come back to bite me somehow if it ended up costing me Callie.

Sighing, I answered the call from Anna, and her concern was just as I suspected.

"Are you certain about this woman?" she asked, her voice filled with worry.

"She's been a legitimate business partner so far, so I didn't see any reason to discourage Callie from meeting with her."

"I understand," she said. "She'll kill me if she knew I was calling you, but it's not only because of this proposed business collaboration."

"Alright," I said and waited for her to speak, but she seemed to be having some difficulty with it.

"Um... you... I received a phone call earlier today, and it's from a mutual friend that we had. He was trying to get in contact with Callie but couldn't, especially since she deleted her Instagram account."

At this, I was alarmed.

“She deleted her Instagram account?'"

"Yes, she did," Anna replied. "A little while ago."

"Why was there a problem?"

"Influx of unwanted messages," she said. "Anyway, he actually wanted to get in contact with you. He said that you two had... um... past relations. I mean relations in the past. Actually, he mentioned that he couldn't believe that Callie continued to date you after what happened in the past, and I was able to put two and two together. I haven't told her about this, by the way, but I will. I just... you've said over and over that it wasn't true, that you never cheated on her, so what is he talking about?"

In the space of these few minutes, there were suddenly too many things to process, and I had to take a little while to understand what she was saying.

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